Microsoft Boosts Markets Amidst Economic Data and Peace Hopes

Thursday marked a relief rally in US equity markets, which could potentially stick. The catalyst for this movement was Microsoft's (MSFT) robust free cash flow results for the second quarter, leading to a 15.5% increase in its shares during regular trading hours.

This massive gain added at least $450 billion to Microsoft's market capitalization, making it the largest single-session gain in market cap for any US company ever recorded. In contrast, Meta Platforms (META) shares fell by 8% despite a broader rally that favored growth-type stocks.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 8.2%, with SanDisk (SNDK), Micron (MU), and Lam Research (LRCX) experiencing significant increases of 26%, 18.4%, and 18%, respectively.

The Dow Jones U.S. Software Index also added 8.4%, led by CoreWeave (CRWV) and Microsoft. However, the Dow Jones U.S. Internet Index lost 2.3% due to Meta Platforms' performance.